Stevens features in Olympic team fundraising campaign

Exergy Tour overall winner Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-lululemon) is the focus of a new video advertisement from the U.S. Olympic Team aimed at raising funds for athletes.

In the ad, part of the “Raise Our Flag” campaign, Stevens describes her path to the London Olympics, from her first races in 2008 to the USA Cycling Development Team and beyond. Given her World Cup win at Flèche Wallonne and top-10 ranking in the season-long standings, Stevens is an automatic qualifier for the U.S. team, though USA Cycling will not announce the roster until later this month.

“Talk about being in over your head, I crashed everyday. Crash, crash, crash,” said Stevens of her first European race, the Route de France. “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m meant to be here,’ and then something switched in my head and I was like, ‘you know what? I’m going to go for it.’ I got in the break and won the stage. To go from being the girl who’s crashing and lying on the ground to actually be winning over in Europe in the USA kit, it was surreal.

“I don’t just want to be good, I want to be great. This year, leading up to the London 2012 Olympics, that’s what I’m focusing on.”